Do Remember: DJ QBert’s Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik (Mixtape)

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Although he does not get nearly enough credit in mainstream Hip-Hop circles, DJ QBert is one of the proven masters within the culture. The San Francisco, California DJ/turntablist/producer born Richard Quitevis has advanced the possibility of the turntable, mixer, and scratch language beyond comprehension. The leader of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, QBert would become a West Coast conduit for DJ culture.

With his turntables and a mixer, QBert embarked on a journey much like his recent one. The DJ stacked up plates by James Brown, Jackson 5, ESG, The Blackbyrds, Z.Z. Hill, and Roy Ayers Ubiquity. Much of the mix is built around Hip-Hop’s famed samples and break-beats. Within, QBert snuck in Prog Rock band Rush, futuristic New Wave artist Gary Numan, and Rock & Roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Additionally, Q worked in Too Short, Roxanne Shante, Fab 5 Freddy, and even retro Acid Jazz outfit, Greyboy Allstars.

What made the mix so astounding is that QBert retraced Hip-Hop music back to its elements, the very ingredients that were at the DJ’s disposal in the Bronx park jams of the mid-1970s. Almost like moving from acoustic to electric guitar, QBert takes the turntable, and amplifies the elementary Hip-Hop exponentially. Moreover, the DJ slides in other records, challenging himself to stay grounded in the confines of the culture.

At the same time the X-Ecutionerz (Rob Swift, Roc Raida, et. al) were running around New York City with a street-stuck rawness, and the Beat Junkies (DJ Rhettmatic, J. Rocc, et. al) were making moves in Southern California, QBert was going back to the future with aggressive scratches, unpredictability, and the fastest hands on two turns around. Already a two-time DMC World Champion, QBert was simply giving the grassroots masses something to admire in their tape-decks. The results were so strong, the work was later officially pressed up to CD and 2LP.

Work like this helped reinvigorate the DJ market, prior to Scratch, Serato, DJ Hero, or mass reissues. Before he was working with Kool Keith, DJ Shadow, and making animated films, QBert was out to be the baddest DJ in the space. Some say this tape may have sealed the deal: